Holt-Delhi Township – Spartan Newsroomhttp://news.jrn.msu.edu
News and information from student journalists at the Michigan State University School of JournalismMon, 16 Oct 2017 18:34:56 +0000en-UShourly119712877After Nassar: A community responds to a local face shrouded in national scandalhttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/after-nassar-a-community-responds-to-a-local-face-shrouded-in-national-scandal/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/after-nassar-a-community-responds-to-a-local-face-shrouded-in-national-scandal/#commentsThu, 20 Apr 2017 15:08:06 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=132224Ex-Michigan State University doctor and former Holt resident Larry Nassar is facing over 80 sexual abuse allegations, and that number seems to grow every week.

Holt, a small and tight-knit community of just under 24,000 people watched as the headlines of court cases and accusations piled up. Nassar was a long-time resident and, at one point, an active member of the community.

The reports began last summer, when allegations began to surface through the news media. One victim, Rachael Denhollander, alleged that Nassar — ungloved and without proper explanation — digitally penetrated her vagina during what was then explained to her as a “medical treatment.”

In November, Nassar first received three charges of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct with a person under 13 from the Michigan Attorney General, Bill Schuette. Each of those charges carries the possibility of life in prison. Schuette said the charges were “only the tip of the iceberg.”

In February, Nassar received 22 more charges from Schuette.

The Nassar case has unfolded titanically: federal investigators say they found 37,000 images of child pornography on Nassar’s personal computer, a case for which he will face trial in August.

Other patients of Nassar—like previous MSU softball player Tiffany Lopez, previous MSU Youth Gymnastics program participant Larissa Boyce, current MSU gymnast Lindsey Lemke—have come forward with their stories of medical betrayal and shame and, in some instances, alleged systematic failure from officials who were told about concerns over Nassar and could’ve investigated further.

Nassar’s medical license has been revoked. MSU gymnastic coach of 27 years, Kathie Klages, retired in February after being complicated in lawsuits related to Nassar.

A Local Face

Rachel Langone, a lifetime resident of Lansing but frequent visitor to Holt, said she hadn’t even realized how close to home the Nassar story was.

“I really had no idea,” Langone said. “Personally, I know that I’d be fighting for my daughter like crazy had she been affected by this. I’d be making everybody know what happened to her. But unfortunately, sometimes all the bad news of the world just blends in with the rest of the bad news of the world.”

Langone did not know that Nassar served as a team physician for Holt High School for 17 years, or that he once penned an op-ed for MLive dedicated to the Holt School District in 2014.

“You hear a lot of stories these days about people in power with a lot of money doing awful things,” Langone said. “I thought this was the same. I didn’t know he was so local. I wish I would’ve known.”

Nassar’s MLive piece addresses the controversial 2014 “Reinventing Holt Schools” plan, otherwise known as “the switch,” which moved senior high school students across the street to another building in 2015. In it, Nassar mentions protesting at school board meetings and his three children, all of whom attended Holt schools at the time.

Nassar was also a prominent member of a community Facebook group named Holt Community Matters, lifetime Holt resident Jennifer Middlin said.

But when the news about Nassar broke she said she knew there would not be space for dialogue about his actions and their implications on the existing community page—the page administrators were his friends, and they deleted posts and blocked users they deemed as “slanderous” against him.

“My goal from the beginning was to just have a space for people to talk about (Nassar),” Middlin said. “I’m not going to block anyone from this page. I want there to be a space for survivors of sexual trauma to feel safe talking about it. This is our community.”

Middlin said she didn’t create the new Facebook page to cause division, but to highlight the issue at hand. She wanted to see the community come together around potential victims, not divide.

In recent months, the Holt Community Matters page has become completely private to outside members. However My Holt Community grows larger as time goes on, and continues to be open to the public. The discussion of Nassar continues as the story develops.

“I know from talking to people who have survived sexual assault that one of the most helpful things you can do it to have an open conversation about it,” Middlin said.

Moving Forward

On March 23, a post was made into the My Holt Community page about the planning of a panel for “parents, guardians, and those responsible for the welfare of children” to come together and talk about prevention training for happenings similar to the Nassar scandal.

The panel will be held by the Firecracker Foundation, a Lansing-based nonprofit that advocates services to child survivors of sexual trauma.

“The one thing we will always stand by and consistently support is believing children when they say they have experienced sexual trauma,” Founder and Executive Director of the Firecraker Foundation Tashmica Torok said. “It’s really important for us, as adults, to believe them and provide them with everything they need to heal.”

Torok said that this is evident in the Nassar cases because many of his alleged victims were children or teenagers when they were abused. She said if children are not believed by close authorities right away, the consequences can be dire for that child’s mental health.

“When children are not believed, they are much more likely to experience depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other devastating life-long impacts,” Torok said. “Children do not lie about these things, which is why we need to believe them right away.”

To the community of Holt, it’s one step toward the process of healing.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/after-nassar-a-community-responds-to-a-local-face-shrouded-in-national-scandal/feed/2132224Scofflaws dumping trash in Delhi Manorhttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/scofflaws-dumping-trash-in-delhi-manor/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/scofflaws-dumping-trash-in-delhi-manor/#respondThu, 20 Apr 2017 14:50:46 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=132135Sarah Pete has lived in the Delhi Manor community with her family for over two years and says that about every day people will come by and throw their trash on the curbs and keep going without thinking about what they have done.

“Most of the trash cans stay full because there are lots of people in one household so sometimes their trash may pile over on the ground because it cannot fit into the trash cans.I think that when outsiders come to the neighborhood they think that the trash looks that way it does because we do not care so they just add to it,” said Pete.

Delhi Manor Residential Neighborhood Photo taken by:Denise Patterson

Jeff McKinney, Delhi Manor leasing office manager, says that this has been an ongoing issue and that he and his staff have taken action to prevent people from throwing their trash on their ground but people just do not care now days.

“About a month back, my staff and I posted flyers in the neighborhood about making sure that trash goes into the trash cans and we did not have an issue for some time then all of a sudden it started again,” said McKinney.

Roger Jackson, a Delhi Manor staffer, says that the trash does not come from those in the community. Jackson says that their residents take pride in their neighborhood and try to make it look its best although they do not have much money and resources to do so.

According to Township Manager John Elsinga, he will look into the situation a little further to figure out exactly what the issue is and how to handle it.

“This is a new issue for me so I’m not sure if I have an immediate solution,however, I will look at the problem further,” said Elsinga.

Township Supervisor John Hayhoe said, “ I’ll look into seeing how I can get smaller trash cans around the residential neighborhood since it has become such a huge issue for the residents. However, I can’t make any promises.”

Delhi Manor’s maintenance worker Ricky Smart says that people don’t take care of areas where they don’t live. Smart says that this issue does not occur across the road at the other residential complex because it is not for low-income families so people have a little more respect for their neighborhood.

Karen Chapple, a professor of City & Regional Planning at the University of California Berkeley ,agrees that the township should help with the issue.

“Local township leaders need to go into the community to fix the problem. It is important for them not to solely focus on where the trash is coming from. We know that it is coming from somewhere. They need to worry more about what to do now that this is a problem for the community,” said Chapple.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/scofflaws-dumping-trash-in-delhi-manor/feed/0132135Free for all, the annual Holt Easter Egg Hunt has built community for 50 yearshttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/free-for-all-the-annual-holt-easter-egg-hunt-has-built-community-for-50-years/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/free-for-all-the-annual-holt-easter-egg-hunt-has-built-community-for-50-years/#respondThu, 20 Apr 2017 12:43:56 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=132174Easter Sunday is always a busy day for the Easter Bunny. But for the past 50 years, he’s made an appearance in Holt every Saturday before his biggest day of the year.

Local children line up in wait for their turn to seek Easter Eggs at Valhalla Park in Holt. The Holt Easter Egg Hunt draws hundreds of children to the town every year just before Easter Sunday.

The special occasion? The annual Holt Easter Egg Hunt, held at Valhalla Park. Attracting hundreds of kids up to 10 years old from the Lansing area, the hunt is a happy chaos of children celebrating one of America’s most beloved holidays.

Local residents like Barb Bellows has been coming out to the Holt East Egg Hunt for three years. She loves the community of the event.

“The mad dash of the kids to get the eggs just cracks you right up,” Marciniak-Bellows said.

The Holt Easter Egg Hunt happens every year ay Valhalla Park, located on the corner of Keller and Pine Tree roads. It is Holt’s largest and most developed park, at 45 acres.

Sponsored by the Holt Kiwanis Club, and sticking around for “some 50 years” according to township officials, the hunt has a bit of a history. In the 60’s, when it began, township officials hid classic hard-boiled and hand-dyed eggs for children to find. But one spring, not long after the hunt began, temperatures rose to the mid-80’s, and fears of salmonella poisoning brought today’s plastic eggs filled with candy into the picture.

The hunt has grown into a community affair.

“I get the local girl scout troops to fill the candy,” Township Supervisor John Hayhoe said. “Now we hand out about 7,000 eggs filled with candy.”

The event is also “green”—parks and recreation employees and township officials collect the used and discarded eggshells from families as the event closes, most of them with the hopes to be recycled for next year’s event.

“Kids used to take the eggs home,” Hayhoe said. “And then, one hunt, a mom said: ‘Everyone take the candy out and leave eggs for the Kiwanis!’ That was great and we became ‘green’ saving on plastic.”

About 600 children and their families showed up for this year’s hunt, which took place on a beautiful, 75-degree afternoon. That’s about average for this event.

A petting zoo featuring a few rabbits and baby chicks was available—a new addition. Children lined the edges of the playground and were separated by age group so that toddlers and older kids weren’t mixed up in the crazy fray to find the eggs. In the end, every child walks away with something.

“This is an annual event for us,” Dimondale resident Jessica Stowell-Marciniak said. “We come out every year, and we’ll keep coming out every year. It’s over and done with in a minute but our kids are always looking forward to it.”

The best part? The event is completely free. Free admission, free photos with the Easter Bunny, and free candy to take home. The township has partnered with local food stores like 7-11 and McDonalds to give away free coupons to families as well.

The event, Hayhoe said, comes to about $350 every year, but the Kiwanis Club covers the costs. The township, he said, doesn’t make a single cent off it. At the heart of it all?

“The kids, they love it.” Hayhoe said.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/free-for-all-the-annual-holt-easter-egg-hunt-has-built-community-for-50-years/feed/0132174As state regulates medical marijuana, Delhi Township weighs the optionshttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/as-state-regulates-medical-marijuana-delhi-township-weighs-the-options/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/as-state-regulates-medical-marijuana-delhi-township-weighs-the-options/#respondThu, 06 Apr 2017 16:20:13 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=121502Patricia Parter had long been against the use of medical marijuana, mainly because she never did drugs in her life. It wasn’t until an accident caused her not only pain but consumed 13 years of her life with opioid and alcohol addiction. Now recently clean, she wants to dull the lingering pain with medical marijuana.

“Medical marijuana is a better alternative,” the Delhi Township/Holt resident said. “I’m trying to get that right now myself. It helps with so many issues … I want to get that instead of taking medication because I’m not going to get addicted again to anything.”

As marijuana has started to slowly seep into full legality across the nation and the benefits of medical marijuana continue to emerge, marijuana has proven to be a contentious issue still for Delhi Township.

Residents refused to go on the record or shied away from the question entirely saying they didn’t want to talk about the issue.

Others who did go on the record were conflicted about allowing marijuana into the community even if for medicinal use.

“I guess I’m libertarian,” Delhi Township resident Tom Brower said. “If someone wants to do it, then go ahead. It’s not for me but if it helps people sure.”

While illegal on the federal, 8 states have fully legalized marijuana, another 20 states have allowed for public comprehensive programs for medical marijuana and an additional 17 have allowed for “low THC, high cannabidiol (CBD)” products for medical reasons in limited situations or as a legal defense,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Michigan falls into the former category.

Eight years ago a successful vote on a ballot proposal allowed for medical marijuana in the state but it has had it’s issues. Lansing and Detroit have become riddled with medical marijuana dispensaries, something law at the time did not mean to create.

While the State continues to regulate medical marijuana, Delhi Township Board of Trustee member Tom Lenard has kept an eye on the emerging industry.

“From my understanding from where we are at the township level and also frankly at the state level through the legislature, there’s still a lot of things that have to be finalized with regards to the laws that were passed in December,” Lenard said.

Those laws passed in December now create three classes for medical marijuana growers — ones who can grow 500, 1,000 and 1,500 plants. Furthermore it set in motion a way for dispensaries to apply for licenses, a sales tax and a tracking system for commercial sales.

However, communities such as Delhi Township/Holt will have the final yes or no on if a dispensary can open up in the town.

“There are more tools for locals to have more decision making power over the issue and how it’s handled in each community, which I think is great for the locals to have more voice,” Lenard said. “I think there’s still a lot of unknowns in terms of how the regulations are going to work, how some of the boards are going to work.”

Lenard knew of the increasing awareness of medical marijuana and said when the time comes for the issue to come in front of the board, he said the board will want to be sure of all the regulations and tools at their disposal.

With pockets of the community still jittery about the subject, the question arises is if the community would be open to medical marijuana dispensaries in the town.

“I think that’s a debate we need to have with the community,” Lenard said. “I think a lot of issues that have been brought up about how it compares to other medicines, you’ve heard me talk about concerns with the opioid crisis I think that’s a huge issue for us and I’ve heard from some folks (medical marijuana) is an alternative to opioid use.

“If people are at less risk of addiction then some of the other issues there, then it should be treated like a medicine,” Lenard said. “Those are the kind of discussions and debates we’re going to want to hear from community members.”

As for residents, Bower said he wouldn’t mind a dispensary or dispensaries in Delhi Township “as long as it doesn’t get out of control like Lansing where they’ve got one street with however many.”

“If it was more like say how they did with the liquor, where they have two or three stores for however many thousand people I think that would be okay,” Bower said. “If you have them on street corner, I don’t know.”

An open atmosphere is good news for Patricia Parter who is in the process of possessing medical marijuana.

“I think it would be good as long as it’s for helping people, medical purposes,” Parter said. “God gave us that plant, I’ve never smoked it but I’m going to try it and it’s natural as long as people don’t abuse it.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/as-state-regulates-medical-marijuana-delhi-township-weighs-the-options/feed/0121502$38.5 million apartment complex plans to bring new living arrangements and people to Holthttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/38-5-million-apartment-complex-plans-to-bring-new-living-arrangements-and-people-to-holt/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/38-5-million-apartment-complex-plans-to-bring-new-living-arrangements-and-people-to-holt/#respondThu, 06 Apr 2017 16:13:33 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=121370

Construction on Willoughby Estates continues on April 4. Photo by Claire Barkholz.

Construction is underway on a $38.5 million apartment complex going up in Holt called Willoughby Estates.

The complex is planned to be completely finished by March 2018. Some of the buildings however, which will include around 100 units, will open early in September of this year.

“It is important that housing options be available for everyone in the community,” said Director of Community Development, Tracy Miller. “This includes affordable housing, as well as higher end product. Having nice rental communities, like Willoughby Estates, is important because it can cater to MSU professionals and others that are looking for shorter term living arrangements.”

According to the 2015 Census the average Holt resident commutes 24.3 miles to work. Holt is a bedroom community, meaning that since it is a suburb of Lansing most people that live in Holt commute to work outside of their home town.

The community up until this point has not strayed far from their neighborhoods of stereotypical two-story houses that fit a four-person family.

Construction on the Willoughby Estates apartment complex takes place on April 4. Photo by Claire Barkholz.

“It is a great living option for residences ranging from their first home to downsizing for a retirement home,” said Project Manager for the Willoughby Estates, Chris Rudolph. “There are units including apartments, duplexes, townhomes and single family homes. All of the units are rentals and include condo style amenities from basic maintenance to the clubhouse and pool area, to high-speed internet access.”

This type of living facility is something new to the Holt community, and the hope is that it will invite new types of people in as well.

According to Rudolph, the apartments will range from one- to three-bedroom units, with rents starting at $850 a month. The cottages will rent for $1,500.

A rendering of what Willoughby Estates is planned to look like when completed. Photo courtesy of Apartments.com

“There is nothing wrong in a bedroom community but for local planning purposes, commercial and business uses require less in terms of service than residential uses do,” said Michigan State University Urban and Regional Planning assistant professor Zeenat Kotval-Karamchandani. “For example, residential uses need schools, which are a big cost to the community. So planners try to get a good mix of residents into the community, so that higher property prices can lead to higher property taxes received.”

The space and resources needed to build this type of complex in Holt have never been available until now, and the developers are ceasing the opportunity.

“This area has been master planned for high density residential development for a long time,” said Miller. “This is because the necessary infrastructure needed to support this type of development is available in this area. The township will gain the redevelopment of a brownfield site, which will return the previously industrial and environmentally impacted property back to productive reuse.”

The Environmental Protection Agency defines a brownfield as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”

Despite the wind and the rain, workers continue construction on the apartment complex on April 4. Photo by Claire Barkholz.

“The site is a brownfield site with contamination from previous use as a paver manufacturing facility,” said Rudolph. “Delhi Township offers tax incentives for the remediation of the site, and then gains tax revenue from the development. Delhi gains tax revenue and a quality multi-family development of an otherwise under-utilized piece of property.”

The apartment complex will be located on the 22-acre property along Willoughby Road between Pine Tree Road and the railroad crossing east of Sycamore Trail.

The property has three man-made lakes, and the Lansing River Trail crosses through the front of it, which Rudolph expects to be appealing to prospective tenants.

“The younger crowd nowadays wants to live where the action is and have access to multiple destination types,” said Kotval-Karamchandani. “Work, shopping, entertainment, etc. Transit services and walkability to multiple destinations is a very desired of living for the younger crowd. Places where you can live, work and play.”

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/38-5-million-apartment-complex-plans-to-bring-new-living-arrangements-and-people-to-holt/feed/0121370Littering a problem in Holt? It depends who you askhttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/littering-a-problem-in-holt-it-depends-who-you-ask/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/littering-a-problem-in-holt-it-depends-who-you-ask/#respondThu, 06 Apr 2017 16:07:32 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=121496Holt resident Joni Kosloski has a two-mile route that she often walks her dogs through near Holt Middle School. It’s also become her litter pick-up route.

“I find litter very disgusting and I found myself suddenly unwilling to keep looking at it and walking past it,” Kosloski said to a community group on Facebook. “I started picking it up every day on my walk.”

Kosloski shared photos of her clean-up experiences after being away from her route of pick up litter in a couple weeks. Show in the photos are cigarette boxes, empty plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and more–and fellow members of her community chimed in once she spoke out against the trash.

“I don’t understand the compulsion to throw something on the ground that belongs in the trash,” resident Cassandra Tate said. “There are several outdoor trash bins in Holt.”

The concerns come at a time full of environmental sustainability focus at Holt. At the Board of Trustees meeting on April 4, township officials reported that they attended a cleanup day throughout Valhalla Park on March 25. Trustee Tom Lenard commented that he personally saw bags of litter being moved out from the ever-popular Holt trail system.

Still, township officials say the problem’s not as bad as it could be.

“I don’t think we have much of a litter problem,” Township Supervisor John Hayhoe said. “I live by one of the schools, and it seems like kids, when they’re on their way out there, maybe they run into town to grab some McDonald’s or something and they’ll throw those wrappers out the window on their way. But you don’t see much litter anywhere else.”

Hayhoe said there are plenty of safeguards in the city against the buildup of trash. Holt’s Parks and Recreation department is always cleaning up, he said, and residents tend to take care of their properties. There are ordinances in place to protect the environment from trash and junk in the Holt community.

In the fall of 2013, Delhi Township was one of three Michigan communities awarded “gold” in the Michigan Green Communities Challenge for an “innovative waste treatment system” that saved $70,000 worth of energy in the community. The other communities awarded gold were Ann Arbor, Mich. for solar panel installation and Dearborn, Mich. for establishing a fund towards energy projects.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/littering-a-problem-in-holt-it-depends-who-you-ask/feed/0121496Where’s CATA in Holt?http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/wheres-cata-in-holt/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/wheres-cata-in-holt/#respondThu, 06 Apr 2017 16:03:54 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=121415An ongoing concern in Holt for residents is the lack of public transportation dependability in the community.The Capital Area Transportation Authority also known as the CATA is the public transit system that operates through Holt. Residents say that they spend hundreds of dollars a month on Ubers, Lyfts, and other forms of transportation.

Residents are having several continuing issues with the CATA from there not being enough buses that run through Holt; buses are not getting to the stops on time; and there have been cases where the bus allegedly simply does not show up.

Douglas Lecato, CATA Board of Directors Vice Chair for Delhi Township says that he is aware of these issues and that the CATA executive staff along with the board are working to fix these problems as soon as possible by hiring more drivers.

According to Jasmine Roy, there is only one bus that comes to Holt which is the #8 Pennsylvania-Holt bus. Roy says that the #8 CATA only goes down some streets and she has had to get off at on stop and almost walk a mile to her destination.

“About a week ago, my two-year-old daughter had an appointment that she could not miss. There wasn’t a bus stop on the street that the office was on so we had to walk for about 25 minutes just to get to the office. What makes things worse is that the office is on a street that doesn’t have sidewalks so I was forced to walk in the street with my baby.”

Map of #8 bus schedule taken from cata.org

Walter McBride says that he has been using the CATA for about 11 years now. He believes that he has saved thousands of dollars by doing so. Although he is a regular on the CATA and plans to keep it that way, he has had his share of hiccups with the CATA.

“I was heading to work a few months back and I left out at my usual time but I guess my bus driver did not that day. I stood there for an extra hour after the time it was supposed come and it never showed up. I had to call my manager to let her know what was going on and pay for an Uber,” said McBride.

June Manning Thomas, a professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, says that public transportation is an issue in every city but it is up to the residents in that city to stay on those who can fix the problem for a solution.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/04/wheres-cata-in-holt/feed/0121415Delhi Township pressures state for road fix planhttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/delhi-township-pressures-state-for-road-fix-plan/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/delhi-township-pressures-state-for-road-fix-plan/#respondThu, 30 Mar 2017 16:35:09 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=116854In an attempt to add its collective voice to a growing chorus of discontent, the Delhi Township Board of Trustees passed a resolution petitioning the Michigan Legislature to devise a long-term solution to crumbling roads in Michigan communities.

“Delhi Charter Township Board of Trustees strongly urges the Governor and Legislature to recommit to prioritizing the development of a comprehensive, long-term road and infrastructure solution that will improve the economic pressures on citizens and local communities, as well as provide safer conditions for travelers and residents,” the resolution stated.

After downturns in the economy caused by the Great Recession, property values declined. With lower property values, fewer taxes became available for the state. In turn, it decreased the amount of revenue taken in by the state.

Lower overall revenue translated to slashing money available for revenue sharing to local communities for improvements and other functions such as road repair.

“Really with all the cuts they’ve made to revenue sharing, the money we used to get now from the state has just been cut dramatically,” Delhi Township Clerk Evan Hope said. “We’ve lost millions over the last decade.”

“Not even the county roads are being touched,” Hope said adding Ingham County, therefore cannot focus on crumbling side streets. Furthermore, the state has focused on state-owned roads such as highways and bridges which have also been neglected over the years.

“We never really had jurisdiction over the roads anyway, it’s the county,” Hope said. “But with more money, we were able to contribute to those subdivisions and local roads.”

Now residents in subdivisions and neighborhoods seeking relief and funding for cratered roads are assessed the full value of the repairs whereas the township used to be able to fund up to half of the cost.

“It used to be residents would pay ‘oh a couple hundred bucks every year on my taxes, oh okay let’s get new roads,’” Hope said. “Now it’s like 400 or 500 bucks a year.”

The worth of fixing the local roads, however, depends on which residents are asked. Some asserted the roads were in awful condition and that they were disgusted with the state legislature. Others expressed that possibly the roads weren’t so bad.

“They’re a little rough,” Holt resident Michelle Jenkins admitted but added the sentiment of needing something to be done now was a “Catch-22.”

“I think they’re doing something about it but I live off of Holt Road and they just revamped the whole thing,” Jenkins said. “I guess my opinion might be different from someone who lives off of Cedar Street going down into Mason. I think they’re doing something about it.”

Holt resident Fran Roth said she didn’t see any roads near her end of down that seemed bad enough to be fixed.

When given an example she said those roads “must be ones I don’t travel.”

The resolution further criticized the legislature, stating it had “long neglected having a comprehensive, long-term solution” while adding despite recent efforts, most Michigan roads would be “listed in poor condition by 2021.”

Delhi Township’s hands are tied however when it comes to receiving more state funding and working on infrastructure improvements. Much of the process will have to do with the economy and efforts such as this resolution, in hopes that the state will respond.

But even this effort might yield little results.

“It probably won’t make a huge difference,” Hope said. “I think our representatives are on our side of this but right now they’re in the minority.”

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/delhi-township-pressures-state-for-road-fix-plan/feed/0116854Holt’s affordability, safe distance from urban madness making it a popular home base for manyhttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/holts-affordability-safe-distance-from-urban-madness-making-it-a-popular-home-base-for-many/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/holts-affordability-safe-distance-from-urban-madness-making-it-a-popular-home-base-for-many/#respondThu, 30 Mar 2017 16:30:44 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=116844Christopher Robbins, a music professor at Lansing Community College, says that he never considered living in East Lansing because he did not want to be neighbors with his students.

“East Lansing is too close to LCC and MSU,” he said. “I have younger children that has to be in bed at a certain time to get up without crying in the morning so having a bunch of teens and young adults living next door or a fraternity across the street will interrupt their sleep making it difficult for me and my wife to wake them up in the morning.”

So he chose Holt, a place growing in popularity with first-time and experienced home owners because of its low property taxes plus its low crimes rates and peacefulness from all the nearby Michigan State University madness.

Holt’s location in Delhi Charter Township means more peace and quiet for educational pursuits at MSU, Lansing Community College and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

What also makes Holt an attraction for home buyers is that the area features seven parks that offer playgrounds, skiing, and skating plus the newest addition Veterans Memorial Gardens, which pays tribute to each branch of the nation’s military.

According to Sarah Tulu,a real estate agent for Holt and Delhi Township, most of the homes are sold to residents that are coming out of East Lansing and Okemos for a variety of reasons.

Roy Sweet, Delhi Township Treasurer, says that homes are selling in Holt because although property taxes are less than the surrounding cities the quality of homes are better plus children can receive a better education and crime rates are low.

]]>http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/holts-affordability-safe-distance-from-urban-madness-making-it-a-popular-home-base-for-many/feed/0116844The new major fitness chain in town may be helping instead of hurting smaller local gymshttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/the-new-major-fitness-chain-in-town-may-be-helping-instead-of-hurting-smaller-local-gyms/
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2017/03/the-new-major-fitness-chain-in-town-may-be-helping-instead-of-hurting-smaller-local-gyms/#respondThu, 30 Mar 2017 16:21:19 +0000http://news.jrn.msu.edu/?p=116725

Planet Fitness in Holt’s parking lot packed at 9 a.m. on March 28.

The spot in which used to be a closed down L&L Food Center supermarket is now filled with the iconic purple and yellow treadmills and exercise machines.

Planet Fitness, a fitness chain with more than 1,100 clubs nationwide, opened a branch in Holt in the Cedar Green plaza at 2380 N. Cedar St. this last October.

Holt already has a number of other gyms and fitness centers within the city, but with the arrival of the new Planet Fitness these other gyms had some big competition come into town.

“Sure Planet Fitness coming into Holt was major talk there for a while, but what we offer at T5 is a lot different,” said T5 CrossFit instructor Marni Thurston. “I think that people come to our gym for a different kind of workout and style of fitness than what you can get there.”

T5 CrossFit features CrossFit workouts taught in a class-like setting. According to Thurston T5 CrossFit hasn’t experienced any significant business loss due to the fact that their style of gym is very different than Planet Fitness’ even though they are a smaller business competing with a major franchise in the same field and in the same city.

“We are open 24/7 so members can come when it is convenient for them, and we also have staff here at all hours which is different from places like Snap Fitness,” said Planet Fitness employee Brittany Gibson. “People feel safe no matter the hour, which I think is something major.”

The Holt Planet Fitness venue is staffed with 25 people, and offers a wide variety of equipment and benefits.

“I really enjoy this new gym,” said Holt Planet Fitness member Lisa Hunt. “Primarily because it’s new, clean and has a lot of equipment. There are many pieces of popular machines, like 25 treadmills for instance, so I rarely have to wait to use something.”

A Planet Fitness weight machine in the Holt branch on March 28.

Planet Fitness costs $10 per month for the most basic membership and $19.99 per month for the black card membership which includes usage of all Planet Fitness franchises, guest privileges, tanning, massage chairs, and more.

“I chose to give Planet Fitness a try mainly because the price was very affordable so there wasn’t too much to lose if I didn’t end up using it a lot,” said Hunt. “It is even cheaper than Snap Fitness, which is another major reason I thought I’d give it a try.”

With all the benefits that come with belonging to Planet Fitness, one would think the other smaller owned gyms in the Holt area’s business would be negatively effected. But this actually is not the case.

“I’m a very small and specialized gym, and in fact Planet Fitness is inexpensive enough that a few of my clients have second memberships there as well, including myself,” said Thurston.

The Holt gym scene is showing how the classic feud between large and small businesses isn’t always the case. It actually is possible for both to coincide peacefully and with little to no harm done to the smaller business.

“Sometimes, the presence of a larger company helps to promote a product or service category—which actually helps the small business in the area as well,” said Mazzeo.